Leeman Brackett Wormhood (1881-1960)

 

From Madbury Its People and Places, 1968.

  In its long history, the town of Madbury, New Hampshire was represented in the legislature by two curiously named men, Eloi Augustus Adams (profiled here on November 29, 2019) and Leeman Brackett Wormhood, who is highlighted today. A longtime resident of Madbury, Wormhood was employed by the Boston and Maine Railroad and also farmed in the aforementioned town. A multi-term selectman for Madbury, Wormhood served four years in the New Hampshire House of Representatives beginning in 1945, and later was a delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1956.

  Born in Ossipee, New Hampshire on May 24, 1881, Leeman Brackett Wormhood was the son of Hartley Lord and Julia Eldredge Wormhood. He married Blanche Tibbetts in East Rochester, New Hampshire in 1902. The couple were wed for over fifty years and had a least one son, Leeman Brackett Jr. An engineer on the Boston and Maine Railroad for forty-five years, Wormhood was active in the civic life of Madbury, being a member of the Grange, the Unity Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, and the Union Congregational Church. 

  On the political front, Wormhood served Madbury in several capacities, including a sixteen-year tenure as town selectman (1930-1946). From 1945-49 he represented Madbury in the state legislature, and from 1949-58 was the town supervisor of the checklist. In 1956 Wormhood retired from farming at his home in Madbury and later resided in a rest home in New Hampshire. In that same year, he served as part of the Strafford County delegation to the state constitutional convention, representing Madbury. Widowed in 1958, Wormhood died in Rochester on December 18, 1960, aged 79, and was interred at the Rochester Cemetery. 

From the Boston Globe, December 23, 1960.

Chilo Webb Burnham (1879-1960)

From the University of Minnesota Gopher yearbook, 1905.

  The North Dakota State Blue Book of 1929 recently yielded the name C.W. Burnham, and hiding behind those initials is the interestingly named Chilo Webb Burnham. A distinguished attorney residing in Foster County for over seventy years, Burnham served over two decades as state's attorney for Foster County and had earlier served six years as county auditor. A native of Vermont, Chilo Webb Burnham was born "near Johnstown" on August 19, 1879,  one of three children born to Franklin H. (1851-1930) and Emma (Rohrbaugh) Burnham (1852-1929).

  In 1883 the Burnham family removed to the Dakota territory and established a farm near what would become Carrington, North Dakota. His early education was obtained in schools local to that area and attended high school in Minneapolis. He continued study at the Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1905. He married in January 1907 to Jemima Buchanan (1882-1971), a native of Scotland. The couple were wed for over fifty years and had three children, Jeanette (1918-2011), Chilo Webb Jr. (1920-1992), and Lucille Margaret (1925-1991).

  Following his marriage, Burnham and his wife resided in Carrington, and in 1908 he made his first move into politics, being a successful candidate for auditor of Foster County. He served six years (1909-15) in that capacity and in 1913 was admitted to practice law by the North Dakota bar. He continued his political rise in 1914 with his election as State's Attorney for Foster County, serving three consecutive terms (1915-21).

  Burnham returned to private practice after leaving office and was aided by his wife, who served as his secretary. He was again elected state's attorney in 1925 and this time served a decade in that post. He left office in 1936, and during his years away from that office was active in the local Kiwanis Club chapter. A charter member of the Carrington Kiwanis Club, Burnham served a term as president of the Minnesota-Dakota district from 1939-40. 

  In 1940 Burnham won another term as state's attorney and served consecutive terms from 1941-48. He returned to private practice after leaving office and was joined by his son Chilo Jr. for a short period. A member of the Federated Church of Carrington and a member of the Carrington school board, Burnham was also a longtime member of the North Dakota State Barr Association, and from 1935-36 served on that organization's legislative committee.

  Chilo Webb Burnham died at a Jamestown, North Dakota hospital on August 13, 1960, a few days shy of his 81st birthday. Jemima Buchanan Burnham survived her husband by over a decade, and following her death in 1971 was interred alongside him at the Carrington Cemetery.

From the Bottineau Courant and County Herald, August 24, 1960.

Uz McMurtrie (1884-1960)

                    From the Centennial History of Grant County, Indiana, 1812-1912, Volume 2.

   The youthful-looking gentleman pictured above is Uz McMurtrie, a 1908 graduate of the Indiana State University at Bloomington who in 1916 was elected as Indiana State Treasurer. Elected at the ripe old age of 32, McMurtrie was one of the youngest men to ever occupy the state treasurer's office. McMurtrie's peculiar first name "Uz" has left me scratching my head in bewilderment, as I can't quite figure out why he was given his outstandingly different name!
   A lifelong resident of the Hoosier State, Uz McMurtrie was born in Attica, Indiana on July 12, 1884, one of five children born to William (1845-1916) and Elizabeth Georgetta Starr McMurtrie (1851-1924). The reasons behind William and Elizabeth bestowing the name "Uz" upon their son have been lost to history, but, as research has shown, the name looks to have had its origins in the Bible, where "Uz" is recorded as both a place (an ancient land mentioned in the Old Testament) and a person (Uz, the son of minor biblical figure Aram, who was himself the grandson of Noah.) During preparations for this article, I was ready to believe that the name "Uz" was short for "Uzziel" or "Uzziah' (both biblical names), but it appears that this wasn't the case--As shown in his 1917 draft registration card, McMurtrie did indeed have a very odd two-letter first name.
    Uz McMurtrie's early life was centered in the town of Attica, where he attended public schools.  He would go on to graduate from the Marion, Indiana High School and in 1904 entered the University of Indiana at Bloomington. His time at the university saw him serve as President of the 1908 graduating class whilst also being active in the student press, holding the posts of advertising manager of the college's Daily Student newspaper, and vice president of the Indiana Collegiate Press Association. McMurtrie completed his senior thesis on "The Separation of the Sources of State and Local Taxation" and graduated in the class of 1908 with his Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree.
   After graduating McMurtrie returned to Marion, Indiana, and entered politics in 1909, becoming the deputy treasurer of Grant County at age 25. He served three years in this capacity, and in November of 1912 was elected to a term as County Treasurer, gaining distinction as "the youngest county treasurer in the state." McMurtrie married during his term on February 11, 1914, in Marion to Elizabeth Hogan (1885-1965). One son was born to the couple, William Hogan McMurtrie (1917-1997), later to be in the employ of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in Los Angeles.

                                   Uz McMurtrie's senior class portrait from the 1908 Arbutus Yearbook.

   McMurtrie's ascension to the county treasurer's office at such a young age garnered him statewide coverage in newspapers of the time, many of which marked him for further success in the political field. He was returned to the office of county treasurer in the 1914 election year, winning, according to the Winchester Journal, "on his official record and by fearless, aggressive campaigning methods."
  During his second term as Grant County treasurer Uz McMurtrie announced that he would be entering as a Republican in the race for State Treasurer of Indiana. Formally entering the race in October 1915, McMurtrie's announcement received substantial press in the Winchester, Indiana Journal, which touted him as an "aggressive young republican", while also noting that:

"The showing made in 1912 marked McMurtrie for statewide notice and admiring comment, as the successful Republican candidate that year in Indiana was a political phenomenon. McMurtrie's still more remarkable vote in 1914, obtained in an impressive Republican fight and on his official record, put the Grant County man before his party as a logical aspirant for state honors."

                                                             From the Winchester Journal, October 13, 1915.

    Riding high on a crest of popularity, McMurtrie won the State Treasurer's office in the 1916 election, formally taking office in February 1917 at age 33, the youngest man ever elected to that office up to that time. He was re-elected as treasurer in the following year and served until the conclusion of this term in February 1921, being succeeded by fellow Republican Ora J. Davies (1874-1958).
    After leaving the treasury post, Uz McMurtrie spent a great deal of the remainder of his life actively engaged in the affairs of his alma mater, the University of Indiana. As one of the school's most distinguished graduates, McMurtrie was a two-time President of the Indiana University Alumni Association and was a past director of the executive committee of the Indiana University Foundation. In 1939 he was appointed to a vacancy on the Indiana University Board of Trustees, succeeding trustee Albert Raab, who had died some weeks previously. McMurtrie's membership on the board extended from 1939-1945 when he retired. In addition to his service to the university, McMurtrie also was acknowledged as an important financial mind in the state, with the Phi Kappa Psi Shield newsletter noting that:

"For many years he had corporate interests and had specialized in financial reorganizations and mergers."

   Following many decades of service to both Indiana and his alma mater, Uz McMurtrie died at age 74 on May 20, 1960. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth and son William and was interred at the Estates of Serenity Cemetery located in Marion, Indiana.

Uz McMurtrie (second from left) at a 1941 gathering of Indiana University trustees. Picture courtesy of the Archives Photograph Collection of Indiana State University at Bloomington.

Giboney Houck (1878-1960)

   A lifelong resident of Cape Girardeau County, Missouri (made famous by native son and radio commentator Rush Limbaugh), Giboney Houck was a highly regarded attorney and one-term legislator who is also notable for being the first Spanish-American War veteran to be profiled here on the site. 

  Born on January 15, 1878, in Cape Girardeau County, Giboney Houck was one of three children born to Louis Napoleon (1840-1925) and Mary Hunter Giboney (1848-1944). Louis Houck was a multifaceted man who made his name as a businessman, lawyer, and journalist and is referred to as the "Father of Southeast Missouri" due to his extensive involvement in laying hundreds of miles of railroad tracks through that region, thereby opening it up for industrialization. Louis Houck chose to bestow his wife Mary's maiden name upon his firstborn child, and the end result is one of the more unusually named persons ever elected to the Missouri legislature.

  Giboney Houck received his schooling at the Cape Girardeau Normal School and later went on to enroll at St. Vincent's College in Cape Girardeau. Houck later joined the Missouri National Guard and after the war was declared on Spain in April 1898, enlisted in the 6th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. Houck eventually deployed to Cuba for "occupation duty" and saw no part of any battles fought during the four-month war. His regiment is recorded by the History of Southeast Missouri, Vol. I as remaining in Havana until May of 1899, whereafter it was "returned to Georgia and mustered out at Savannah." Houck is listed as being a First Lieutenant during his service and eventually rose to the position of Major. 

  After returning to civilian life Houck began attending the University of St. Louis Law School and graduated from this institution in 1901 with his law degree. Soon afterward he returned to Cape Girardeau to open a law practice, and in the succeeding years built up a clientele that included numerous local businesses. Houck also participated in his father's various business ventures and was responsible for executing his father's estate after Louis Houck's death in 1925.

  In 1918 Houck became a candidate for the Missouri State House of Representatives and ran as a Democrat in a largely Republican district. A major part of his campaign platform (listed in an election notice in the November 1918 Cape Girardeau Weekly Tribune) was a drainage law then on the books that stated that the cost of bridges being erected in the Little River District of Cape Girardeau County would be fielded by the counties themselves, and not the Little River Drainage Corporation. Sources of the time estimated that this would cost Cape Girardeau (and other counties in the area) hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Houck's platform notes that if elected he would try and have the "law amended in the new legislature so as to take the cost of the building of the bridges across the Little River Diversion Channel from the people of Cape Girardeau County, thus saving the county from $300,000 to $500,000."

From the November 1, 1918 Cape Girardeau Weekly Tribune.

  On election day 1918, Giboney Houck emerged as the victor, besting the Republican nominee George F. Siemers. The Missouri Herald later noted that Houck was "the only Democrat elected in that county to any important office in 20 years." After taking his seat in January 1919, Houck was named to the House Committees on Swamp Lands, Drainage and Levees,  Immigration, and Schools.

  While serving in the legislature, Houck found a kindred spirit in another oddly named representative, Dr. Asier Jacob Speer (1874-1948), elected from the neighboring county of Bollinger. Speer's constituency was faced with the same problem as those in Cape Girardeau, and together the two representatives introduced a bill that would try and alleviate the concerns of both counties. The bill they introduced faced substantial opposition from the Little River Drainage District and its various supporters, and although Houck managed to guide the bill through the House successfully, the May 30, 1919 edition of the Southeast Missourian notes that the "owner of the St. Louis Times, a very rich man and also owner of 15,000 acres of land in the Little River Drainage District, persuaded the Republicans to stand by him and they did. Thus the bill failed." 

  Giboney Houck's short tenure in the house ended in 1921 when he wasn't a candidate for reelection. In 1922 he mounted a candidacy for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri, and a write-up on his run appeared in a 1922 edition of the Southeast Missourian and is posted below.

  Houck was unsuccessful in his candidacy and spent the remainder of his life involved in the affairs of his native county of Cape Girardeau, and is remarked by the Southeast Missouri State University as being the founder of a local telephone company as well as helping to establish the People's Theatre of Cape Girardeau. In 1958 Houck was named as Senior Counselor of the Missouri State Bar Association, noted by the Southeast Missourian as being "an honor reserved for members of long standing." He died two years later on September 16, 1960, at age 82 at a local hospital. Sources list him as being a lifelong bachelor and he was later interred in the Houck family plot at the Old Lorimer Cemetery in Cape Girardeau.

  

Houck's death notice from the 1960 Southeast Missourian.